A little fruit still life

I took my Van Gogh watercolor Pocket Box with me on a recent trip to Nashville TN.  The box includes 12 1/2 pans, a folding brush, and lid with 5 compartments to mix paint.   It was a short trip so I packed light.  I carried the watercolor pocket kit, an extra small Strathmore spiral bound journal, watercolor postcards, packet of tissues, small water bottle, two Koi short waterbrushes, a mechanical pencil and kneaded eraser in a large zip lock bag.

I only found time to do two still life sketches of the oranges I took back to my room for late night snacks.  Of course I didn't think of doing the first sketch until I had already started peeling the orange.  I carefully removed additional peel and two sections to expose a view of the inside of the orange.  Then set it down on the black desktop.  The light from the lamp cast deep distinct shadows and highlights on the oranges.  The dark surface of the desk reflected back very little of the orange's color.

The second orange I painted before peeling it.  The second orange was not as orange.  I set it on a white napkin which allowed more of the colors to show in the shadow.  I used both cold and warm shades of yellow (254, 269), red (311, 370) and blue (506, 535); as well as burnt Sienna (411) for these small sketches.  For photos of both orange journal entries see my Flicker site.

While in Nashville I went to the Frist Art Museum and saw two really wonderful exhibits.  'Watch Me Move: the Animation Show' with clips from every type of animation done since the beginning of this art form.  'Real/Sureal: Selections from the Witney Museum of American Art' which contains many thought provoking pieces of art.  The bonus was that in their gift store I found a lovely waterproof zippered clutch that everything fits into perfectly.  No more zip lock bag for me!